Philosophy & Approach

Day in the Life

General School Mission

"Education is power. Education is key. Education is the groundwork for success. The educational, social, and ethical foundation developed in elementary school is that on which an entire life will be built. Educating a child is a tremendous responsibility. Hillel Academy embraces this responsibility and has established an outstanding multifaceted educational program, designed to provide a strong foundation for the intellectual, social, and religious needs of all of our students.

Hillel Academy offers an integrated and interactive curriculum, which encourages students to apply their specific knowledge and educational experience to the broader environment. Students are encouraged to explore, experience, and examine. Students learn to formulate hypotheses, analyze methods and processes, and work to think creatively. We help them develop their intuitive learning abilities, to learn how best to learn, and to discover the best way in which to master new ideas, concepts, and values. Our students are secure in the knowledge that whether or not they succeed in a particular endeavor, true education is participating in the process. Hillel Academy's outstanding educators consistently galvanize our children to dream. We at Hillel believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it.

The goal of Hillel Academy's curriculum is to assist our students to become critical thinkers and community leaders. We take pride in introducing important skills and concepts in an enthusiastic way. Our teaching methods are based on discovery through process. Teaching strategies include problem solving, project orientation, group process, open-ended tasks, and the exercise of high-level thinking skills. We strive to teach children to think, to make decisions, to ask questions, to work independently and together, and to seek intellectual challenges. We believe it is crucial to infuse within our students a thirst for learning and a desire to improve existing skills. The success of our program is predicated on the concept of partnership, where students, families, and teachers are all vested in and committed to the educational process, with the end result of achieving optimal benefit and satisfaction from every lesson.

Technology is an important tool in education. Hillel features a full technology program, encompassing computer operations, word processing, graphics, multimedia, spreadsheets, databases, and telecommunications. Students learn to harness the invaluable power and potential of the Internet as a research tool to expand and enrich every subject.

Art, music appreciation, athletics, and culture further enhance the educational experience at Hillel Academy. Our Jewish Studies program focuses on the history, culture, tradition, language, and most importantly, moral values of the Jews as a people. We provide a diverse palette of extra-curricular activities to satisfy a wide variety of children's interests.

It is our institutional belief that the community is an extension of the classroom. Hillel Academy promotes the value of becoming a positive influence within our communities through words and actions. The centrality of the importance of community involvement is reflected in our Jewish Studies program, which teaches us to embrace the Torah's mandate that education without deeds is fundamentally lacking. To that end, Hillel presents many opportunities for students to exhibit chesed (kindness) and tzedekah (charity).

At Hillel Academy, we are especially sensitive to the vital role that parents, family, friends, and the greater community play in shaping and fostering the character and life-skills of each student. We welcome these human resources into the classroom as advocates, mentors, and instructors. We are developing a student internship program, in which students in the middle school will forge relationships with working professionals who will mentor our students. We believe this program will help our students experience the "real world" from a safe and protected vantage point, and that the program will provide a chance for students to discover new interests and talents. Children can thrive and gain new confidence when they believe others believe in them.

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